REG - Gelion PLC - Lithium Sulfur IP Acq + Innovation Challenge

GelionAnnouncement

13/03/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 6679S  Gelion PLC  13 March 2023

13 March 2023

Gelion plc

("Gelion", "the Group" or the "Company")

 

Lithium sulfur IP acquired from University of Sydney and

selected for Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge

 

Gelion (AIM: GELN), the Anglo-Australian battery storage innovator, is pleased
to provide the following update:

 

Lithium Silicon Sulfur ("LiSiS")

 

Acquisition of intellectual property assets from the University of Sydney

 ·         Following the recent acquisition of the IP portfolio from Johnson Matthey
           announced on 9 March 2023, Gelion announces the acquisition of intellectual
           property assets ("IP") in relation to sulfur cathodes, electrolytes and
           additives from the University of Sydney ("University"). The IP was previously
           exclusively licenced to Gelion under a grant made by the University in 2021
           which provided Gelion with an option to acquire the IP for A$130,000. Post the
           Johnson Matthey acquisition, Gelion decided to use the option as we assess the
           strategic importance, and the value of this IP is significantly higher given
           the technological progression made by Gelion in the sulfur cathode space
           creating a pathway of accelerated commercialisation. This acquisition also
           includes future cooperation from the University including all right, title and
           improvement made by the University to the IP in the future.
 ·         This acquisition along with the Johnson Matthey IP portfolio ("Combined IP")
           provides Gelion with greater flexibility in its Lithium Sulfur and Lithium
           Silicon Sulfur offerings, and our objectives toward supporting graphitic and
           high silicon as well as lithium metal anodes, improving overall lithium-ion
           battery safety, increasing gravimetric energy density and achieving lower
           costs. This acquisition reflects Gelion's commitment to accelerated technology
           development along this path.
 ·         Concurrently Gelion, in partnership with other major industry participants, is
           exploring the potential to establish a pilot scale manufacturing capability in
           the LiSiS space.

 

Selected in the Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge

 ·         Selected by Supercharge Australia to take part in the "Supercharge Australia
           Innovation Challenge". This challenge supports lithium battery innovation and
           aims to capture more value from the lithium battery supply chain, as a
           potential lithium battery gamechanger to enable next generation applications
           of e-aviation and provide better battery performance and safety for electric
           passenger cars, trucks and buses. Gelion aims to use the initiative to extend
           visibility and understanding of the strength, relevance, and ultimate
           potential of its LiSiS initiative and to help further develop important
           connections inside the Australian and Global supply chain.

 

Zinc Bromide

 ·         Completed the manufacturing of 1,200 zinc bromide gel-based cells to be
           utilized in the Acciona trial and internal R&D. These are being tested
           internally at Gelion's cell testing program and utilised in an end-to-end
           system validation process using the same infrastructure that will be used by
           Acciona. The trial will begin on the successful completion of these internal
           validation tests.
 ·         Developed and implemented a more sophisticated version of our battery
           management system (BMS) for zinc-bromide batteries (currently being used for
           internal testing), designed to allow for high accuracy measurements.
 ·         Initiated development of software to manage multi-string systems and provide
           reliable data for real-time data analysis.
 ·         Conducted a rigorous match to market exercise in respect of its zinc bromide
           technology which has provided additional insight into how the product can be
           further optimized to better meet the needs of potential end customers. Based
           on outcomes from the review Gelion will conduct research and refinement of the
           zinc bromide technology toward delivering the identified goals which we
           anticipate will take in the order of 12 months before making any decision to
           scale production.

 

John Wood, Chief Executive of Gelion commented: "My first few months as the
CEO have confirmed my view that Gelion offers exceptional technologies in a
fast-moving and high-growth space. Our focus is to refine and deliver these
technologies into a package that is suitable for our large target markets.

 

Building on the IP acquisition from Johnson Matthey, I am very pleased with
the acquisition of sulfur cathode IP from the University of Sydney as we
assess the value of this IP to now be multiple times higher than initially
anticipated.

 

Our match to market study in the zinc bromide area has produced very useful
data which we will use to further develop our technology. Again, the end
market is vast, but it is critical that we deliver a compelling proposition to
our customers with a robust and proven product and follow a rigorous approach
to ensure full technology market readiness.

 

I am encouraged by the progress we have made over the last few months and am
confident in the plans we have, to deliver the best performance building on
Gelion's strong IP and team resources for the benefit of our shareholders."

 

Acquisition of lithium sulfur IP

 

Gelion has acquired the University's lithium sulfur IP for a total AUS$130,000
(plus GST), which will be satisfied by the issue of 171,396 ordinary shares in
Gelion plc (the "Consideration Shares") at a price of 42.83 pence on 17 March
2023.

 

The University will transfer to Gelion plc the patents, the technical
information and any improvements in relation to sulfur cathodes (including
suitable additives and electrolytes), including all of its right, title and
interest in any improvement to date and in the future, created by the
University or its associates.

 

This acquisition converts Gelion's previously existing exclusive licence with
the University to use its Lithium Sulfur technology within its additives
business to create LiSiS batteries.

 

The Combined Portfolio has the potential to:

 

 ·         resolve the issue of sulfur management which is a critical issue for Lithium
           Sulfur batteries;
 ·         eliminate the reliance on the maturity of Lithium Metal anodes as the Lithium
           Sulfur cathodes developed by Gelion are intended to be compatible with
           graphitic, silicon, and lithium metal anodes; and
 ·         allow for the Lithium Sulfur technology to be commercialized on accelerated
           paths.

 

In addition, the combined portfolio also provides Gelion with:

 

 ·         a greater control over its usage and potential commercialisation pathways;
 ·         an ability to tailor the IP to its specific needs and make changes or
           modifications as needed; and
 ·         an option to licence the technology to other parties (should it decide) which
           has particular value to Gelion given the importance of the product and intense
           competition.

 

Gelion's Performance Additives division is focused on developing sulfur
cathodes which, when paired with existing lithium-ion and lithium-ion silicon
battery anode technologies, have the potential to improve overall lithium-ion
battery safety, increase energy density and reduce cost, presenting a
compelling commercial proposition for a range of markets including electric
vehicles, e-aviation and drones.

 

As previously announced in December 2022, Gelion's half-cell sulfur cathode
technology has now reached 300 usage cycles at less than 20% capacity
degradation using conditions where testing without the additive failed inside
100 cycles, a result that points to the potential for Gelion's additives when
paired with existing lithium-ion and lithium-ion silicon battery technologies.
Gelion is accelerating its research in this area and is commencing the early
stages of full cell testing.

 

This IP acquisition will strengthen Gelion's overall offering in the LiSiS
market, enhance the Group's IP portfolio and accelerate the Company's ability
to develop products focused on the improved performance of lithium-ion
batteries.

 

Gelion, in partnership with other major industry participants, is exploring
the potential to establish a pilot scale manufacturing capability in the LiSiS
space.

 

Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge

 

Gelion has been selected to participate in the Supercharge Australia
Innovation Challenge. Supercharge Australia is a project of the partnership
between not-for-profit startup support organisations New Energy Nexus globally
and EnergyLab in Australia and New Zealand. New Energy Nexus has offices in 11
countries and is head-quartered in the US, and EnergyLab is the leading local
climate and clean energy tech startup support organisation, both supporting
clean energy entrepreneurs with funds, accelerators, and networks.

 

A key purpose of Supercharge Australia is to bring the Australian industry
together to understand where innovation is required and leverage New Energy
Nexus' global expertise, including its role in the US Department of Energy's
Lithium Bridge project combined with EnergyLab's leading Australian startup
support expertise to accelerate the development of a robust and secure
domestic supply chain for lithium-based batteries and associated businesses.

 

Danny Kennedy, Chief Energy Officer New Energy Nexus commented: "New Energy
Nexus and our partners established the US Lithium Bridge, a 600+ company
ecosystem, to target US$33 billion in lithium battery revenues and 100,000 new
jobs by 2030. New Energy Nexus and EnergyLab are bringing these learnings to
Australia, including developing a suite of startup support programs locally to
accelerate the build out of Australia's ecosystem with candidate high impact,
next generation technologies like Gelion's lithium-silicon-sulfur battery
development."

 

The global clean energy transition will be driven largely by batteries and the
Supercharge Australia initiative aims to position Australia as a leader in
lithium battery technology, from extraction to advanced battery and EV
manufacturing. While Gelion is still in the development stages of its LiSiS
development, assuming success of the program, the technology has the potential
to achieve double the gravimetric energy density of current lithium batteries,
while achieving a lower cost and improving safety. It was selected into the
Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge as a potential lithium battery
gamechanger to enable next generation applications of e-aviation and provide
better battery performance and safety for electric passenger cars, trucks and
buses. Gelion aims to use the initiative to extend visibility and
understanding of the strength, relevance, and ultimate potential of its LiSiS
initiative and to help further develop important connections inside the
Australian and global supply chain.

 

Zinc Bromide

 

 ·         Gelion has manufactured approximately 1,200 zinc bromide gel-based cells to
           date (170 kWh).  While these have been tested within Gelion's own parameters
           they have not been tested under conditions analogous to those within the
           Acciona ecosystem. Accordingly, these cells are now being tested internally at
           Gelion's cell testing program and utilised in an end-to-end system validation
           process using similar infrastructure as Acciona would use. The trial will
           begin on the successful completion of these internal tests.

 

The Company has conducted a rigorous match to market exercise, which has
supported the positioning pre-empted in the December update of adapting
Gelion's:

 

 ·         Zinc technology toward applications currently dominated by Lead-Acid batteries
           (intended applications include reserve power for microgrids, telco tower
           battery systems and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) batteries for data
           centres); and

 ·         Lithium Silicon Sulfur technology toward the family of lithium dominated
           applications where the potential of the technology to deliver higher
           gravimetric energy density, enhanced safety, and lower cost is compelling.

 

Combining understanding of the performance needs from the lead acid segments
identified as most suitable to Gelion's technology with learnings from the
Company's early manufacturing and testing, the business will now focus its
Zinc technology development toward a further round of research work to achieve
certain defined goals before committing further investment to scale
production. This research is expected to take place over the course of the
next 12 months with a round of further testing and validation thereafter.

 

Release of a full production battery cell design requires significant time and
investment, and the Board believes this approach is both the most effective
stewardship of the Company's resources and the fastest path to successfully
launch a new cell chemistry.  The Board will continue to keep shareholders
informed as this progresses.

 

 

Issue of Consideration Shares

 

Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for the 171,396
Consideration Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and admission is
expected to occur on or around 8.00am on 17 March 2023 ("Admission"). The
Consideration Shares will rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares in
the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares").

 

Total Voting Rights

 

Following Admission, the issued share capital of the Company will be
108,407,750 Ordinary Shares and this figure may be used by shareholders as a
denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are
required to notify their interest in or change to their interest in the
Company under the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules published by the
UK Financial Conduct Authority. There are no Ordinary Shares held in treasury
and each Ordinary Share entitled the holder to a single vote at general
meetings of the Company. Therefore, the total number of voting rights in the
Company will be 108,407,750.

 

 

CONTACTS

 

 Gelion plc                                                    via Alma PR

 John Wood, CEO

 Amit Gupta, CFO

 Thomas Maschmeyer, Founder and Principal Technology Advisor

 finnCap Ltd (Nominated Adviser and Sole Broker)               +44 207 220 0500
 Corporate Finance

 Christopher Raggett

 Seamus Fricker

 Fergus Sullivan

 ECM

 Barney Hayward

 Alma PR (Financial PR Adviser)                                +44 20 3405 0205

 Justine James                                                 gelion@almapr.co.uk

 Josh Royston

 Hannah Campbell

 Will Ellis Hancock

About Gelion plc

 

Gelion ("gel: ion") is a global renewable-energy storage innovator who
supports the transition to a sustainable economy while delivering value for
its customers and investors by designing and manufacturing the outstanding
zinc-bromide batteries for stationary energy storage and Lithium Sulfur and
Lithium Silicon Sulfur technologies for mobile battery applications.

 

Mobile storage - Tomorrow's transport systems will rely on mobile renewable
energy.  Gelion is developing sulfur cathode, electrolyte, and additive
technologies with the aim of improving the safety, longevity and energy
density of lithium-based batteries for mobile applications. Using
nanotechnology, Gelion's lithium-silicon-sulfur additives will help power the
EV and e-aviation markets.

 

Stationary storage - Gelion Endure: the sustainable energy storage solution.

Gelion has developed patented technology for a breakthrough zinc-bromide
battery to support the transition to a carbon neutral economy by 2050. The
technology is being developed with the goal of establishing Gelion Zinc
Bromide as a logical participant in the ecosystem of suppliers, manufacturers
and customers surrounding lead acid technology.

 

Gelion's zinc-bromide gel battery uses non-flow technology, which is scalable,
can deliver 100% depth of discharge and has potential for higher temperature
tolerance and longer duration discharge than lead-acid batteries.

 

Gelion was spun-out from the University of Sydney in 2015 by Professor Thomas
Maschmeyer, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and recipient of the
Australian Prime Minister's Prize for Innovation 2020, that country's highest
honour for scientific entrepreneurship.

 

The Company's ESG credentials are strongly aligned to six of the UN's 17
Sustainable Development Goals.

Gelion's shares are listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and
it received the Green Economy Mark at IPO in November 2021 recognising its
commitment to energy transition.

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